PROUDLY SUPPORTING HOUNDS FOR HEROES

Sunday 17 May 2009

Trick Training - Paw

Giving the paw is one of the most popular tricks to teach a dog. It is also one of the easiest.

Generally, most dogs will automatically lift their paw up when you hold out your hand. If your dog does this, all you have to do is click and reward, repeat until the dog is doing it reliably, then introduce the verbal command before you click, repeating until the dog has learnt the command.
However, some people may find that their dog is a bit reluctant to do this. If this is the case with your dog, try the following.
Have your dog sit in front of you. Put a treat in your hand and show it to your dog. Close your hand around it. Initially, your dog will try to pry your hand open with its nose. Keep your fist closed. Eventually, the dog will use its paw to try and get the treat. As soon as it touches your hand with its paw, click and reward. DO NOT introduce the verbal command yet. When the dog is using its paw every time, remove the treat, and instead offer your open hand. When the dog touches it with its paw, (it may take a few tries before it realises what it is suppose to be doing,) click and reward. Continue to practise this until the dog reliably lifts its paw everytime.
You can then introduce the verbal command BEFORE the click. Repeat until the dog has learnt the verbal command.
If you desire, you can use the same technique to teach the dog to give both paws. However, if you do this, remember to use a different command for each paw. I use "paw" and "other one", but you could use "left" and "right" or whatever you wish, as long as there is a distinct difference, so as not to confuse the dog.

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